Maraş Tarhanası

Maraş Tarhanası is a fermented, sun-dried food from Kahramanmaraş province in south-central Turkey, made from cooked cracked wheat, yogurt, thyme, and salt, with optional black sesame, pepper, walnut, and almond. The European Commission entered it in the register of protected geographical indications on 4 December 2023 by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/2706, published in Official Journal L series. The application was submitted by the Commodity Exchange of Kahramanmaraş on behalf of Maraş Tarhanası producers. The Turkish domestic GI protection was established in 2010, with the Commodity Exchange of Kahramanmaraş as the registered holder.

Maraş Tarhanası differs fundamentally from all other tarhana varieties produced in Turkey. Other Turkish tarhanas are powder-form products made from flour and yogurt, used only for soup. Maraş Tarhanası is made from cracked wheat (not flour), takes the form of thin crispy sheets rather than powder, and can be eaten on its own as a snack as well as in soup, fried in oil, soaked in broth, or baked. Its defining production distinction is that yogurt is added after the wheat is cooked and cooled — not during cooking — preserving the lactobacilli cultures and creating the product's characteristic probiotic identity and pronounced sour taste.

What makes it distinct

Ingredients: The two main obligatory ingredients are cracked wheat and yogurt. Thyme and salt are also obligatory. Black sesame (5–20% per 100 kg, optional), and pepper, spice, walnut, and almond (20–30% per 100 kg, optional) may be added after fermentation according to personal preference.

Production sequence: Wheat is cooked overnight in large boilers (masere kazanı) using a wooden paddle (tarhana küreği, 120–150 cm) in a continuous stirring process called kürekleme. Once cooked and cooled, yogurt is added at a ratio of at least one part yogurt to two parts wheat. Salt (0–3%) and thyme (0.1–0.3%) are added at this stage. The mixture ferments in cloth-lined baskets for 8–12 hours, then is spread in paper-thin layers on long straw mats called çiğ for sun-drying of approximately 24 hours. The sheets are turned the following morning and fully dried. Once dry, Maraş Tarhanası is gathered in large and small strips in the shape of chips.

The probiotic distinction: Because yogurt is not cooked in this process, lactobacilli cultures remain active. The product acquires a simultaneous fermentation character from fermentative yeasts in the cracked wheat and lactobacilli from the yogurt. This gives Maraş Tarhanası its medium-to-strong sour taste, its probiotic properties, and its long shelf life of up to one year in a dry, cool place.

Drying method: Primary drying is sun-drying, which also confers vitamin D content. On unsuitable weather days, oven drying with air circulation at a maximum of 60°C is permitted (above 70°C all yogurt bacteria die and probiotic properties are lost). The drying method must be stated on the packaging label. Production season runs from the beginning of June to the end of October.

Physical and chemical characteristics

• Form: Flat, thin sheets; crispy; 1–3 mm thickness for standalone snack form

• Colour: Light cream to dark cream

• Aroma: Dried fermented yogurt and thyme

• Taste: Medium to strong sour, from lactobacilli fermentation

Chemical composition per 100 g:

Parameter	Minimum	Maximum
Protein	13.23%	16.77%
Fat	1.7%	4.99%
Moisture	6.24%	9.13%
Salt	0.00%	3.00%
pH	2.79	3.7
Acidity	17.75%	40.85%
Lactic acidity	0.5%	7.00%

Approximate energy content: 370 kcal per 100 g.

Production zone and natural factors

The production area is the whole of Kahramanmaraş province, located in the eastern Mediterranean Region of Turkey at 37°35'4.92"N, 36°55'35.08"E, altitude 568 m.

The natural conditions of Kahramanmaraş during the tarhana production season are integral to the PGI link. The province has a constant breeze during July and August (monthly average wind speed 5.7–6.28 m/s, compared to the Turkish national average of 1.8–2.1 m/s), lower humidity (41.56–46.61% vs. national average 47.7–51.7%), higher sunshine intensity (632.7–668.3 cal/cm² vs. national average 483.2–535.7 cal/cm²), and higher average temperatures (29.25–30.25°C vs. national average 24.8–25.6°C). These conditions — dry air, constant wind, and high sunshine — are essential to the sun-drying process and contribute to the product's crispness and vitamin D content.

All production stages must take place within Kahramanmaraş province.

Historical context

Photographic documentation of Maraş Tarhanası production dates to 1919, when American officer Stanley Kerr photographed tarhana being spread at an orphanage in Kahramanmaraş. A tradition holds that during the Dulkadiroğlu Principality, Sultan Yavuz Selim I provisioned his army with Maraş Tarhanası during the Ridaniye Campaign, prizing it for its light weight, high nutritional value, and resistance to spoilage in extreme temperatures. The product is recorded in academic sources and featured in the international reference work Traditional Foods: General and Consumer Aspects (Kristbergsson & Oliveira, Springer, 2016, p. 94).

Control and certification

Control is carried out by a three-member supervisory commission comprising one representative each from:

• Commodity Exchange of Kahramanmaraş (coordinator) — Barbaros Mah. Batı Çevre Yolu, Onikişubat, Kahramanmaraş

• Kahramanmaraş Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry

• Kahramanmaraş Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Annual audits plus on-complaint inspections examine colour, taste, and thickness; sourness and crispness are evaluated by trained and certified sensory analysis personnel. Chemical analysis is performed in ministry-approved laboratories. All producers must be registered with the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture; their business registration numbers must appear on all sales packaging. Producers retain invoice records for all raw material inputs for 10 years.